iOS How to build an iphone app for beginners

[taneteil]

What does it take for someone without experience in writing codeto develop an app? Is the sdk all I need? What book(s) should I purchase?
Any advice and help is greatly appreciated!

 

[old-wiz]

You need a good foundation in programming first.

 

[Dark Dragoon]

The freely available Stanford iTunes U course Developing iOS 7 Apps for iPhone and iPad seems to be pretty good.
It also takes you through the basics of how to use Xcode.

However before you look at that you will need a good amount of Object-Oriented programming experience.

 

[dejo]

What does it take?

Here's a basic list: time, money, talent, resources, knowledge, determination. I'm sure there are more.

Also, be sure to visit the Stickies at the top of this forum (although some could probably use some updating).

 

[Duncan C]

What does it take for someone without experience in writing codeto develop an app? Is the sdk all I need? What book(s) should I purchase?
Any advice and help is greatly appreciated!

Short answer: A lot of hard work.

You'll need to learn the basics of programming (in dependent of the language used)

You'll need to learn C and Objective C

You'll need to learn how to use Xcode

You'll need to learn the Cocoa touch frameworks.

For learning programming and C/Objective C, I'd recommend "Objective C, the Big Nerd Ranch Guide". It teaches you programming from the beginning, using first C, then Objective C, and teaching you a little Xcode along the way. It's well-written and pretty easy to follow.

If you read that book from cover to cover, and do all the exercises, you'll have a decent foundation in Objective C.

Then you'll need a good book on iOS development, or perhaps the Stanford video series, or maybe both.

 

[1458279]

This is really an open ended question because it really depends on what the app will do.

A flashlight app could be done with some sample code and little or no knowledge of programming.

Unless you want to become a professional programmer, you'll probably be best off to hire out the work.

The second factor is the person learning, some take to programming faster than others, it's really hard to know where you'll stand until you try.

It won't cost anything to watch some videos on YouTube and see how well you understand it.

 

[xArtx]

Pretty much!
It might take all of the above, or it might take recompiling some sample code
in an imaginative way, and a little bit of artistic flair with some icons, and not much else.

This is really an open ended question because it really depends on what the app will do.

A flashlight app could be done with some sample code and little or no knowledge of programming.

Unless you want to become a professional programmer, you'll probably be best off to hire out the work.

The second factor is the person learning, some take to programming faster than others, it's really hard to know where you'll stand until you try.

It won't cost anything to watch some videos on YouTube and see how well you understand it.

 

[firewood]

What does it take for someone without experience in writing codeto develop an app? Is the sdk all I need? What book(s) should I purchase?

This depends on the type of app.

There are apps (which you might at first think to be simple) that might require as much time and effort (years or more) as earning a graduate university degree or two.

There are also very simple types of iOS apps that can be generated by non-programmers using drag-and-drop tools available on the web (buzztouch, et.al.), then deploying using your Mac.

In general, learning to code, by itself, can take months to years to get to an average (for mobile development) proficiency level. Then there's learning each SDK, tool set and the frameworks.

The video most often recommended for learning iOS development lists 3 quarters of university level coursework as a prerequisite.